Global Lockdown and Falling Emissions Won’t Slow Climate Change

Springtime is a difficult moment to puzzle out what the ongoing economic shutdown means for global warming. Carbon-dioxide levels always drop throughout the spring and summer in the Northern Hemisphere, as hungry plants absorb the primary greenhouse gas. This seasonal effect is occurring as pandemic lockdowns have stopped billions of people from driving and working, slashing fossil-fuel use and lowering carbon-dioxide emissions.

“If we were to continue like this for months, instead of weeks, we will see a drop in carbon emissions that we haven’t seen in my lifetime,” said Rob Jackson, a professor at Stanford University and chair of the Global Carbon Project. “And probably since the end of ...